The Breakfast Club

A friend of mine recently proposed an interesting question -- is Richard Vernon (Paul Gleason) from John Hughes' "The Breakfast Club" a principal, vice principal or a teacher? Online searches will lead you to believe he is a principal (or assistant principal), but there is no substantial evidence of this in the film.

In fact, Vernon is labeled as a teacher in the early pages of Hughes' screenplay, and he has a prominent dialogue in the film with Carl the janitor (John Kapelos) where he discusses his teaching career of 22 years. It seems as if the principal/vice principal mindset was formed through a collective consensus over the decades, and even I figured Vernon was the highest authority figure in the film's high school setting. However, based on evidence, I think I'm now leaning towards the teacher.

Sadly, this burning question isn't answered on the new Criterion Collection Blu-ray release of "The Breakfast Club," but it's okay because this new iteration celebrates John Hughes' classic film in fantastic ways. In a 4K digital restoration with uncompressed monaural soundtrack, this iconic coming-of-age story has never looked or sounded better. Other bonus features include:

• Audio commentary from 2008 featuring actors Anthony Michael Hall and Judd Nelson• New interviews with actors Molly Ringwald and Ally Sheedy• New video essay featuring director John Hughes's production notes, read by Nelson• Documentary from 2008 featuring interviews with cast and crew• Fifty minutes of never-before-seen deleted and extended scenes• Rare promotional and archival interviews• Excerpts from a 1985 American Film Institute seminar with Hughes• 1999 radio interview with Hughes• Segment from a 1985 episode of NBC's "Today" featuring the film's cast• Audio interview with Ringwald from a 2014 episode of "This American Life"• Trailer• An essay by author and critic David Kamp

Perhaps we'll never know the answer to Vernon's scholarly position in "The Breakfast Club," but one thing is true -- this film is one of the greatest high school movies ever made and arguably Hughes' best film. It's no wonder this film is being added to Criterion, as its place in film history is undeniably important. Moving, hilarious and ridiculously entertaining, "The Breakfast Club" is one of a kind.